


Finding Danny

by LeDiz



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Angst, Family, Gen, Ghostly obsessions, Post-Series, Unfinished
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-29
Updated: 2016-08-29
Packaged: 2018-08-11 19:05:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7904158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeDiz/pseuds/LeDiz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jazz hasn't seen Danny in days, so she goes looking for him in the same way any sister would look for their ghost-hunting little brother. By bribing the Box Ghost.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Finding Danny

It was perfect. In every way. Perfectly cubic. Large enough to carry multiple bulky items, yet small enough to carry comfortably. Safe. Secure. Boxy.

“Beware! For I am the – eep!”

Utter perfection had been ruined! By the cylindrical container of horror! But still capped! A chance to claim the –

“Yeah, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I suggest you don’t try it.”

The Box Ghost scowled past the thermos to the girl holding it. The ghost boy’s meddling human sister. “You will give me the –”

“No, I’ll trap you in this thermos unless you tell me what I want to know,” she snapped, before her face softened a little and she pulled Perfection out from behind her back. “If you tell me quietly and calmly—and honestly!—I’ll even give you the box.”

He considered for a moment, then let his arms drop by his sides. “What is it you want to know, oh meddling sister of the ghost boy?”

“And with that question you answer your own,” she said. “Where’s my brother?”

He blinked. “Why would I, the Box Ghost –”

“Because when brother isn’t hanging around town as a human, he’s off doing something stupid and heroic as a ghost,” she said shortly. “And since nobody human has seen him for a few days, I’m willing to bet you ghosts know something about it.”

“You do not bet wisely, oh foolish keeper of the Perfect Container!” he cried, flailing his arms a little, but then dropped them again to straighten. “However! I have to admit that if you are looking for him, you are thinking far more cleverly than you bet!”

“Huh?”

“We ghosts are not creatures of random whim as you humans! No! We make sense!” he announced proudly. “We focus our lives on something important! And no silly distractions may get in our way!”

“Your obsessions,” she said slowly. “That’s how I got your attention – by waving around this box and telling the world how great it was.”

“Indeed! The Perfect Container is too impressive to be kept in the hands of one such as you! And so it shall be mine!”

“Only if you keep talking!” she warned, tucking the box behind her again. “You’re saying Danny has an obsession too? I can get him to come to me by tempting him with an obsession?”

He shrugged, more interested in the box, but the girl was frowning, looking off to the side.

“What would his obsession be? He hasn’t been by to see Sam in a while, so that can’t be it… he got over Paulina… he’s big on astronomy, but I can’t exactly offer him the…” She trailed off as her eyes drifted back to the Box Ghost. Then her shoulders slumped. “Oh, duh, Jazz.”

 

* * *

 

“And people used to call me suicidal.”

Jazz looked over her shoulder and smiled warmly. “Danny, you came!”

“Well, yeah, I – wait, this can wait!” He rushed forward and gently pushed her back onto the roof proper, then turned to glare at the Box Ghost. Jazz grinned triumphantly – her plan had worked!

She had been balanced, ever so precariously, on the edge of the roof of her parents’ command centre for a little over a minute, holding the box out in front of her and negotiating with the… eccentric ghost. The deal was, if he kept threatening to push her off and claim the box as his own, she wouldn’t suck him in the thermos.

And, sure enough, Danny had quickly appeared, all ready and raring to kick some ghostly butt. Obsession indeed.

“Alright, the ghost boy is here and you shall uphold your end of the bargain!” the Box Ghost wailed, and Jazz nodded.

“Sure. Here you go!” She tossed him the box, which he caught with his powers, before making a gleeful noise and zooming off.

Danny gave her a direct look. “You set this up?”

“Well, I’ve been trying to find you for days and nothing worked! Where have you been?”

“Jazz, there have gotta be easier ways,” he said with a sigh, and folded his arms over his chest, legs disappearing into a fine mist below him. “A bat signal, or something.”

“I would’ve called your cell, but I don’t think you have it on you,” she said, and he shrugged.

“It’s there when I need it. What’d you want, Jazz?”

“Uh, I dunno, maybe just to know where you were?” she snapped. “You’ve been missing for a week, Danny!”

“Four days.”

“Six!”

“Five.”

“Six! Whatever! Why?”

He shrugged again, looking away, and she rolled her eyes. “Does this have something to do with Sam?”

“What? No.”

“She’s looking for you too, you know.”

“I’ve been busy,” he muttered.

“Doing…?”

“Stuff. Look, Jazz, seriously, if you don’t want anything in particular, I really have other places to be right now.”

She just set her hands on her hips and stared at him, waiting. He glared back at her for several long seconds before rolling his eyes and letting out a very loud and put-upon sigh. His legs reformed and he dropped down beside her, then further, sitting on the command centre with his arms folded over his knees.

“It’s Mom and Dad. I don’t want to… deal with them.”

She frowned as she sat down beside him. “I thought things were getting better, now they know.”

“Better, worse, I dunno… it’s getting hard to tell what I think anymore.” He shoved a hand back through his hair and stared out over the city. “I mean, they know, but they don’t understand. I thought that once they did, everything would be great, like with you, and how you just took it and we kept going.”

“But?”

“But they didn’t. Haven’t. I mean… I don’t know…” He shoved his hands into his hair again, but this time they stayed there, hiding his face. “Mom… still… I don’t know why I thought it would be different. Even before all this stuff happened, Mom always…”

“She and Dad have always been scientists before parents,” she said softly. It had always been a problem, ever since they’d gotten old enough to realise it. When they were kids, they didn’t see that most of the time they spent with their parents was doing experiments, or learning about science. Playing in the sand was about construction, swimming was physics, lying in the grass and talking was parapsychology. It wasn’t strictly their parents’ fault – they honestly didn’t notice what they were doing. They thought it was just playing. After all, what was more fun than talking about ghosts?

“She wants to study me,” he said softly. “Maybe not rip me apart, molecule by molecule, or strap me to a table and have a look inside, but…”

“Oh, Danny…”

“I’m a freak,” he murmured. “And being at home makes sure I know that.”

The words made her look up and around, in search of Spectra or Bertrand, but she knew deep down this wasn’t them. She sighed and gently reached over to pull Danny’s hand away, so he looked up at her from the corner of his eye. She squeezed his wrist but didn’t bother to smile. “You’re my little brother, little brother. And no ghostly DNA is going to change that.”

“Aw, Jazz…!”

She giggled and lashed out with one arm, wrapping it around his shoulders and yanking him in close. He groaned and put up a decidedly pathetic struggle, but didn’t phase through, accepting the hug with all the shattered dignity of a teenager that knew he needed the affection.

They sat like that for a few seconds, until Jazz’s smile faded and she let her chin fall to his shoulder. “You left home because of that… but why disappear completely? Sam said she hasn’t seen you in days.”

“I needed to figure some stuff out. It’s hard enough being a teenager, let alone a teenage hero,” he said wryly, then laughed and added, “let alone a half-ghost teenage hero!”

“Like what?”

He didn’t answer for a moment, his gaze dropping to his hands, now extended out over his knees. He hesitated, then leaned into her, shifting so he could rest his cheek on her hair, her own cheek against his chest. “I think I might be a little bit dead, Jazz.”

...

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of The 48, a collection of unfinished fics saved to my hard drive. I'm posting them on Ao3 for people's interest, or in case anyone would like to adopt them. The last time this had any minor edits it was July 2013, and it's probably been longer since it was really worked on.
> 
> I can't remember exactly where I was going with this, beyond general dissatisfaction with Phantom Planet. If you can find a point, please let me know and have fun!


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